Using the std.zlib compression

Phobos provides a wrapper for the common zlib/gzip/DEFLATE compression algorithm. This algorithm is used in the .zip files, the .png images, the HTTP protocol, the common gzip utility, and more. With std.zlib, we can both compress and decompress data easily.

How to do it…

Let's compress and decompress data by executing the following steps:

1. Import std.zlib.

2. Create an instance of Compress or UnCompress, depending on what direction you want to go.

3. Call the compress or uncompress methods for each block of data, concatenating the pieces together as they are made.

4. Call flush to get the last block of data.

The code is as follows:

void main() {
  import std.zlib, std.file;
  auto compressor = new Compress(HeaderFormat.gzip);
  void[] compressedData;
  compressedData ~= compressor.compress("Hello, ");
  compressedData ~= compressor.compress("world!");
  compressedData ~= compressor.flush();
  std.file.write("compressed.gz", compressedData);
}

Running the program will create...